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Frank Awards 2014: Best Films

Today is the last day of the Frank Awards 2014! We give out the last four awards to the best films in Animation, Documentary, Chilean Films and finally the Best Film Overall. Which film will win? Well, for those who know me and read my top 10 may already know, but… whatever!

Best Film, Animated

Last year the winner was the wonderful wonderful ‘Koto no ha no niwa’ (2013) one of the most heartbreaking and devastating animes out there. But had I seen Kaguya last year, it would be a different tale, sadly.

And the nominated films are:

Big Hero 6

Feast

How to Train Your Dragon

Last Days

The Lego Movie

And the Best Animated Movie is…

‘The Lego Movie’ was kinda surprising in the way that it used its own identity as a commercial film against itself, while maintaining the idea that Legos are amazing and that everyone should play with them. This is a perfect companion piece with the Lego episode from ‘The Simpsons’ that was released last year. The both of them combine together to make both a love letter to the toys, and a heartwarming story about personal superation. Cliched, but sometimes the cliches work.

***

Best Film, Documentary

Last year the Mexican/American documentary ‘Narco Cultura’ (2013) was the winner, a harrowing portrayal of the worst that can happen when the art becomes imitable with the crimes that it portrays, specially when it defends them. A poignant film that I wish was talked more about.

And the nominated films are:

Los castores

The Iron Ministry

Life Itself

La once

Songs from the North

And the Best Documentary is…

‘Life Itself’ was equal parts homage and biography to that critic figure that was Roger Ebert. It’s a well made documentary in a year where many tried and not one truly succeed in terms of feeling the emotion of the things portrayed, or the urgency of the topic that it talks about. Only this could’ve worked out as the film that it was going to be. Steve James triumphs here with a great story.

***

Best Film, Chilean

Last year the Italian-German-Chilean co-production ‘Il futuro’ (2013) directed by Alicia Scherson was elected for the Frank Award 2013 for best Chilean film. Wonderful acting and poetic rhythm. Which film, in a less stellar year, will be chosen this time?

So, the nominated films are:

Los castores

La once

Desastres Naturales

Matar a un hombre

Propaganda

If you search in this site, all of these movies have a review or done in other sites, they’re all interesting films, but in the end, if it were last year, ‘Il futuro’ (2013) would’ve won again! As you can see there are a couple of repeated films when it comes down to how Chilean documentary films are usually among the best films of the year always.

And the Best Chilean film is…

‘Los castores’ was in my top 20 films of 2014, and while this film wouldn’t make the list today, it’s still my choice for one of the most controversial and conversation-starter films of 2014. Killing beavers is right or wrong? Is it an abominable thing to do if there’s the need to do so? What are the rights of the animals even if they are introduced species? Let’s watch this movie and debate.

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Best Film of the Year

Last year the big winner of this award was the masterpiece ‘Her’ (2013) that I recently rewatched and found as spellbound as that first and second time that I saw it. Right now we will see the final award, who will win?

The nominated films are:

Adieu au langage

Boyhood

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Interstellar

Tokyo Tribe

And the Best Film of the Year is…

‘Interstellar’ is a masterpiece, and while I can see its faults, its those moments of certain imperfection that make it more human to me as a viewer. Wonderful acting (though no acting nodes from me), wonderful cinematography (though no cinematography nodes from me) and a visual story that strives for more with every minute that passes. This is the film of the year.

***

Which were the most nominated films and how many Frank Awards did they win?

Amicus Productions: Horror-Scifi

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
The Skull (1965)
Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965)
The Psychopath (1966)
Dalek's Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966)
The Terrornauts (1967)
The Deadly Bees (1967)
They Came from Beyond Space (1967)
Torture Garden (1967)
The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970)
The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
I, Monster (1971)
Tales from the Crypt (1972)
What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972)Asylum (1972)
The Vault of Horror (1973)-- And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
From Beyond the Grave (1974)
Madhouse (1974)
The Beast Must Die (1974)
The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
At the Earth's Core (1976)
The People That Time Forgot (1977)
The Monster Club (1981)

Hammer Pictures: Horror-Fantasy-Sci Fi

The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935)
Man in Black (1949)
Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)
Dick Barton at Bay (1950)
Four Sided Triangle (1953)
Spaceways (1953)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
X: The Unknown (1956)The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Quatermass 2 (1957)
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Tales of Frankenstein (1958)Dracula (1958)The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
The Mummy (1959)
The Stranglers of Bombay (1960)The Brides of Dracula (1960)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
The Terror of the Tongs (1961)
Taste of Fear (1961)
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
Shadow of the Cat (1961)
Captain Clegg (1962)
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Paranoiac (1963)
The Damned (1963)
Maniac (1963)
The Kiss of the Vampire (1963)
The Old Dark House (1963)
Nightmare (1964)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
The Gorgon (1964)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
Fanatic (1965)
She (1965)
The Nanny (1965)
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
The Reptile (1966)
Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)
The Witches (1966)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Slave Girls (1967)
The Mummy's Shroud (1967)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
Journey to Midnight (1968)
Journey into Darkness (1968)
The Vengeance of She (1968)
The Lost Continent (1968)
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
"Journey to the Unknown" (1968)Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)
Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969)
Moon Zero Two (1969)Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)
Crescendo (1970)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)Scars of Dracula (1970)
Lust for a Vampire (1971)
Countess Dracula (1971)
Creatures the World Forgot (1971)
Twins of Evil (1971)
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)
Hands of the Ripper (1971)
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)
Vampire Circus (1972)Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)
Straight on Till Morning (1972)
Fear in the Night (1972)
Demons of the Mind (1972)The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
"Hammer House of Horror" (1980)
"Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" (1984)
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1984)
Beyond the Rave (2008)
Let Me In (2010)The Resident (2011)